GCAH (Graduate Committee on the Arts and Humanities)

Description

The Graduate Committee on the Arts and Humanities (GCAH) provides support for the researc

h and creative efforts of faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder, so as to deepen and enrich the range of humanistic and artistic activity on campus. The committee uses the National Endowment for the Humanities' definition of the humanities:

“The term ‘humanities’ includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life.”

GCAH provides support for individual research or creative work, special events, travel to further research or creative work, travel to present such research or creative work at venues that enhance one’s research and creative activity, and short visits by scholars and artists from outside the University. Forms and guidelines may be downloaded from this site (see below).

GCAH consists of 10 to 12 faculty members, active in research and/or creative work in the humanities and arts, each of whom serves for a three-year term. Committee members are appointed by the Director of the Center for Humanities and the Arts. For more information, consult GCAH Policies and Procedures.

Policies & Procedures

The Graduate Committee on the Arts and Humanities (GCAH) supports the research and creative efforts of humanities and arts faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The Committee uses the National Endowment for the Humanities’ definition of the humanities: “The term humanities includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism, and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life.”

In addition, GCAH supports work in the creative or performing arts including creative writing, painting, sculpting, composing or performing music, acting, directing, and dance, as well as critical, historical, and theoretical studies of the arts. The primary mission of GCAH is to support and promote arts/humanities faculty research.

Upon recommendation of the GCAH, the Dean of the Graduate School offers the following grants/awards:

research/creative work grants

special event grants

visiting scholar/artist grants

All awards made by GCAH are contingent upon the availability of funds.

At the end of the grant period, recipients are required to submit to the GCAH committee a brief, written report of two (2) pages maximum with explicit explanations of the results produced during this period. For conferences, grant recipients are required to submit a brief, two-page maximum, written report including the conference program. These should be sent to Lisa Bailey in the Center for Humanities and the Arts (CHA), lisa.bailey@colorado.edu or 280 UCB, within one month of the completion of the grant period. For example, if your grant period ends with your travel to the Sahara in the month of July, please submit the grant report by the end of August of the same calendar year.

These reports are mandatory and need to have been submitted before further grant proposals will be considered or funded.

Grants

Eligibility

Any member of the Boulder campus faculty holding at least a one-half time, tenured, tenure track or rostered instructor appointment is eligible to submit proposals to the GCAH. Visiting faculty members are not eligible to apply.

Rostered instructors are defined as an instructor who: has a current, valid letter of offer and acceptance; has turned in a non-tenure-track Roster Form to Faculty Affairs; is a regular, permanent employee with an appointment that extends beyond one year; is supported by continuing general fund budget or recharge; and whose annual merit and reappointment evaluations follow the same procedures as tenure-track positions.

Each academic year, applicants may receive one grant in each of the three categories. Prior funding records will be a factor in deciding whether to grant funds.

Application Project Description

Write a detailed and persuasively argued project description; address goals, methods, or travel requirements, if applicable. Identify what resources you need and why, and how you propose to answer your research questions. Explain the relevance of your research to your discipline. Also, please provide methodology and, if archival research is going to be done, justify why travel is appropriate.

Application Procedure

Applications for grants are submitted on forms using the links at the top right of this page. Please note that a letter of support from the department chair must accompany the submission in a sealed envelope, or they may be sent as an attachment to Lisa Bailey. If the applicant is the department chair, the support letter must be written by the appropriate dean. Applications that do not include this letter will be returned to the applicant. Please give your chair/dean sufficient advance notice for completing the support letter.

Basis of Awards

Grants are awarded on the merit of the proposed projects as a contribution to research or creative work in the arts and/or humanities, the record of the applicant, and the quality of the application. Visiting scholar/artist grants are reviewed on the basis of the research or creative record of the visitor and the expected contribution to the campus.

Applicants seeking to fund performances, lectures, and exhibitions must demonstrate to the GCAH committee that the event in question will promote faculty research, creative work, or future performance capacity. Events whose primary beneficiaries are undergraduate and/or graduate students are not eligible for funding. Applicants must demonstrate that this criterion is addressed and has been met in their proposed application.

Preference for conference travel applications will be given to a) international travel to present work at a demonstrably important venue (the “demonstrating” must be achieved by the applicant and/or chair of the department); b) travel that includes a legitimate research angle in addition to presenting work at a demonstrably important venue. Faculty members must explain how they have exhausted their $1000 travel/equipment budget from A&S when applying for funding from GCAH.

Costs associated with book production (photos, complex notation, bibliography, etc.) should be submitted to the Kayden Fund before applying to GCAH. Please go to the College of Arts & Sciences for further information.

Award Procedures

The GCAH Committee meets once a month during the academic year (September through April) to consider proposals. Applicants should apply at least six weeks before the proposed grant period. GCAH will consider mitigating circumstances in enforcing this rule; in no event will funding be provided retroactively. A written report of the project is required at the end of the grant period. Any unused portions of the grant funds must be returned to GCAH.

The University of Colorado at Boulder offers many different funding options. If a faculty member receives an external grant for a project funded by the GCAH, any portion of the GCAH grant that covers duplicate expenses must be returned to the GCAH committee. Equipment purchased with a GCAH grant belongs to UCB, not the individual, and should be donated to a UCB unit at the end of the grant period.

When a publication, exhibit, or performance results from work supported by the GCAH, the recipient should acknowledge GCAH in publications, programs, etc. (e.g., “This publication results in part from work supported by University of Colorado at Boulder’s Graduate Committee on the Arts and Humanities.”)

Types of Grants

Research and creative work grants are awarded to support faculty research and/or creative work. Awards for individual grants do not exceed $3000. This maximum is for the entire project, including events with multiple participants, such as ensembles.

travel to present work at venues that enhance one’s research and creative activity

foreign or domestic airfare

ground transportation (e.g., car rental, train fare)

lodging and meals

GCAH does not fund conference travel, unless travel to the conference would afford a substantial professional opportunity that would otherwise not be possible, such as (but not limited to) archival research or performance. Additionally, GCAH does not fund travel to institutions that have invited CU-Boulder faculty to speak, to give a performance, or to mount a display, but that offer minimal financial support for such travel.

Special event grants are awarded to support one-time events such as seminars, conferences, recitals and performances that benefit the research and creative interest of UCB faculty. Awards for special events do not exceed $3000.

Distinguished visitors in the arts and humanities are invited to the Boulder campus for short visits to contribute to the research and creative interests of the faculty. Preference is given to visitors with distinguished records who bring expertise not available on campus. Grants for short-term visitors may not exceed $1000 for U.S. scholars or international scholars traveling within the U.S., or $1500 for international scholars traveling from other countries. If a speaker will be part of a regular CU-Boulder series or other institutionalized CU-Boulder event, the proposal should make clear how the regular series/event is providing funding and why GCAH is being approached for funds.

GCAH Forms:

Deadlines

For Research/Creative Work, Special Event, and Visiting Scholar/Artist Grants, the following deadlines apply:

Fall 2017:
September 1; October 6; November 3; December 1

Spring 2018:
February 2; March 2; April 6

Deadlines assume a 12:00 noon cutoff. Please hand deliver proposals (no staples, please) to Macky 201, or send in campus mail to 280 UCB. Mailed proposals must reach CHA by the deadline. For further information please contact Lisa Bailey in the Center for Humanities and the Arts at 303-735-0237 or Lisa.Bailey@colorado.edu. You may also contact Paula Anderson at 303-492-1423 or Paula.Anderson@colorado.edu.